Sleep Unplugged with Dr. Chris Winter

Nutrition and food are big topics within sleep circles. What can I eat to support great sleep? In this episode we will:Learn about the amnio acid tryptophan and what food contain high levels.Debunk the myth that turkey contains high levels of tryptophan, and thus is the reason why you fall asleep after eating turkey on ThanksgivingOutline the steps in melatonin synthesis, beginning with tryptophan being facilitated by calcium and insulin levels in the bodyList the various enzymes and chemicals that catalyze the steps of melatonin synthesis, and the nutrients that support themHighlight foods that are sources of intrinsic melatonin, such as tart cherries, black walnuts, and almondsInvestigate GABA, potassium, and apigenin as chemicals outside of the melatonin synthesis pathway than can influence sleep.Produced by: Maeve WinterMore Twitter: @drchriswinter IG: @drchriwinter Threads: @drchriswinter Bluesky: @drchriswinter The Sleep Solution and The Rested Child Thanks for listening and sleep well!

There is nothing in the realm of sleep medicine that creates more confusion (both among patients and providers) than paradoxical insomnia. Known by many terms over the years, paradoxical insomnia (or sleep state misperception) is at once common and rare, This is unfortunate because more awareness could improve the overall recognition and diagnosis or insomnia as well as improve treatment outcomes. In this episode we will:Review the definition and incidence of insomnia disorderExplore the inherent problems that result from patient sleep reporting (sleep latency, sleep duration, etc.)Describe the origins of sleep state misperception and how it was a natural outgrowth of the more widespread use and formalization  of the polysomnogramDefine paradoxical insomnia and detail the shortcomings of the definitionDifferentiate between a formal diagnosis of paradoxical insomnia and a patient who underestimated their sleep amount/overestimates sleep latencyLook at historical studies that first quantified the number of insomnia patients that underestimated their sleep amount and to what degreeDefine the Misperception Index (MI) and how it can be used to create a spectrum and diagnostic structure for paradoxical insomnia. List the risk factors and causes of paradoxical insomniaBriefly touch upon potential treatmentsProduced by: Maeve WinterMore Twitter: @drchriswinter IG: @drchriwinter Threads: @drchriswinter Bluesky: @drchriswinter The Sleep Solution and The Rested Child Thanks for listening and sleep well!

On this special Halloween edition, we will wander into the dark and terrifying forest of nightmares and night terrors. In this episode, we will:Explore the origin of the term nightmareDifferentiate nightmares from bad dreams and learn what constitutes the diagnosis of nightmare disorderList other REM-related parasomnias besides nightmare disorder (like isolated sleep paralysis (Episode 16), REM Behavior Disorder, and catathreniaCharacterize the prevalence of nightmares and nightmare disorder as well as its risk factorsLook in depth at treatments in particular Image Rehearsal Therapy and the newer Targeted Memory Reactivation techniqueName medications sometimes employed in nightmare disorder therapyDefine night terrors and other non-REM-related parasomnias like sleep talking (somniloquy), sleepwalking (somnambulism), sleep-related eating disorder (SRED), and various sexsomniasCharacterize the prevalence of night terrors as well as their risk factorsReview treatments and best practices for these disordersProduced by: Maeve WinterMore Twitter: @drchriswinter IG: @drchriwinter Threads: @drchriswinter Bluesky: @drchriswinter The Sleep Solution and The Rested Child Thanks for listening and sleep well!

Twice a year, daylight saving time takes center stage as we talk about it, worry about it, plan for it, and either rejoice or renounce its very existence. Now, as the United States government debates whether or not to legislate an end to the practice, let's take some time to explore the topic. In this episode we will:explore the origins of daylight saving time and its particularly unique history in the United Statesunderstand the reasons for not only implementing the practice of daylight saving time as well as the reasons why it has persisteddifferentiate the various aspects of daylight saving time and standard timetouch on the actual energy savings created (or not) by daylight saving timeprobe the public's sentiment for keeping DST or adopting permanent standard timeevaluate the health risks (and sleep risks) of the biannual changes (as well as a potential intrinsic risk of DST itself) and why we should adopt permanent standard timelist some possible strategies for lessening the impact of the transitionProduced by: Maeve WinterMore Twitter: @drchriswinter IG: @drchriwinter Threads: @drchriswinter Bluesky: @drchriswinter The Sleep Solution and The Rested Child Thanks for listening and sleep well!

Has there ever been a topic more fraught with misunderstanding and misinterpretation than napping. Should we nap? Should we not nap? What if I can't nap? This episode will cover it all. In this episode we will:Understand how napping can benefit our health and performanceEvaluate how in some populations, excessive napping can be a marker of poor healthLearn how napping can be employed to supplement nocturnal sleep and repay sleep debtFind out the ideal way to structure the environment and timing of napsRecognize when napping may be a sign of poor health.Produced by: Maeve WinterMore Twitter: @drchriswinter IG: @drchriwinter Threads: @drchriswinter Bluesky: @drchriswinter The Sleep Solution and The Rested Child Thanks for listening and sleep well!

Almost half of all people will experience the terrifying feeling of awakening from sleep unable to move. Sleep paralysis has its roots deep in history and separating fact from lore is not always easy. this this episode we will:explore the history and mythology surrounding sleep paralysis, the night hag, incubus/succubus, and the origin of the term nightmarecontrast different cultural interpretations of sleep paralysis as well as the various treatments believed to ward off the conditionexplore the incidence of the disorder both as an isolated phenomenon as well as a chronic statedescribe the various ways in which it manifests in individualslist the risk factors and predisposing conditions for sleep paralysisdetail the neural pathways and highlight the neuroanatomy of the process and how it links to causes and risk factorsdiscuss treatment options and for whom they may be appropriateProduced by: Maeve WinterMore Twitter: @drchriswinter IG: @drchriwinter Threads: @drchriswinter Bluesky: @drchriswinter The Sleep Solution and The Rested Child Thanks for listening and sleep well!

When it comes to sleep, I'm not sure there a topic that frustrates more than waking up at night (sometimes referred to as sleep maintenance insomnia). The struggle to make it from bedtime to wake can be a long and tortuous journey for some.  In this episode we will:explore the history of sleep and nocturnal awakenings define the prevalence of nocturnal awakenings in the adult populationunderstand both the definition of arousal and its relationship to awakeningsinvestigate the concept of sleep efficiency, how it relates to sleep expectation versus sleep need, and how this itself can lead to increased awakenings at nightdetermine how the presence or absence of excessive sleepiness can help to understand the cause and seriousness of nocturnal awakeningslearn the risk factors and predictors that often lead to nocturnal awakeningsfind out that an individual's determination of the cause of their awakenings can be unreliablediscuss the role of sleep studies in determining if there are pathological causes for nocturnal awakeningsexplore the role of anxiety and worry in nocturnal awakeningssummarize the numerous studies that have shown the role of exercise in reducing both frequency and duration of nocturnal awakeningsProduced by: Maeve WinterMore Twitter: @drchriswinter IG: @drchriwinter Threads: @drchriswinter Bluesky: @drchriswinter The Sleep Solution and The Rested Child Thanks for listening and sleep well!

Even though circadian rhythms seem initially to be exclusively linked to our sleep, these primitive timing mechanisms reach back to virtually the dawn of life as we know it. Understanding circadian pathways lays the groundwork for not only understanding circadian disorders like jet lag and shift work, but also for understanding how to optimize our own health. In this episode we will:define circadian rhythmsunderstand the mechanisms in the nervous system that govern circadian rhythms and biological timingfind out about some of the early pioneers of circadian science and how their experiments helped to shed light on intrinsic rhythmslearn why human circadian rhythms are slightly longer than 24 hourslist the multiple systems within our bodies that depend on these rhythmsexamine research that indicates how harmful biological timing is to our health and the diseases/conditions they influencedetermine ways to optimize our own health through improved circadian schedulingProduced by: Maeve WinterMore Twitter: @drchriswinter IG: @drchriwinter Threads: @drchriswinter Bluesky: @drchriswinter The Sleep Solution and The Rested Child Thanks for listening and sleep well!

Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) is a unique and relatively common sleep disorder that quietly affects the sleep of 15% of individuals (by some generous accounts). Despite its initial description dating back to 1672, it still remains somewhat of a mystery--suffered miserably by many but often missed as a sleep diagnosis. In this episode, we will:learn the unusual history of the multiple 'discoveries' of RLSgive an overview of the symptoms of RLS and the varied ways in which they are described and experienceddissect the diagnostic criteria of RLSdifferentiate primary RLS from secondary RLSlist the risk factors for RLS including low iron, pregnancy, and certain medicationsdiscuss the treatments (both medicinal and non) of RLS including weighted blanketsProduced by: Maeve WinterMore Twitter: @drchriswinter IG: @drchriwinter Threads: @drchriswinter Bluesky: @drchriswinter The Sleep Solution and The Rested Child Thanks for listening and sleep well!

The intersection of sleep and athletic performance, relatively speaking, is a new frontier. In the last two decades, the interest in how sleep optimization can improve achievement within sports has exploded. In this episode I will discuss:the history of how sleep has been looked at in sports and the earliest observations on the subjecthow I became interested and eventually involved with research in sleep and sportthe story behind my initial studies with Major League Baseball and travelthe topic of circadian advantage and how we measured it over ten years of Major League Baseball gameshow chronotype seems to impact the performance timing of elite athletesthe influence of sleepiness on athletic performance, success in a sport, and potentially longevity as an athleteother influential research and researchers in the fieldwhat it all means for not only professional sports organizations, but also the average athleteProduced by: Maeve WinterMore Twitter: @drchriswinter IG: @drchriwinter Threads: @drchriswinter Bluesky: @drchriswinter The Sleep Solution and The Rested Child Thanks for listening and sleep well!